Supplementary Online Content

Wang CJ, Ng CY, Brook RH. Response to COVID-19 in Taiwan: big data analytics, new
technology, and proactive testing. JAMA. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.3151

eTable. List of Actions Taken by Date and Category

This supplementary material has been provided by the authors to give readers
additional information about their work.

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eTable: List of Actions Taken by Date and Category

Actions on Border Control, Travel Restrictions, and Case Finding

Date Policy and/or Action
Dec 31 • Officials board and inspect passengers for fever or pneumonia symptoms on direct
flights from Wuhan
Jan 5 • Taiwan CDC notified if passenger from Wuhan has fever and/or URTI
Jan 20 • Wuhan: Level 2 travel alert
• Central Epidemic Command Center activated
Jan 21 • Wuhan: Level 3 travel alert
• National Security Council convened to coordinate efforts from the Ministries of Health
and Welfare, Transportation, Economics, Labor, Education, Environmental Protection
Administration
Jan 22 • Entry permits canceled for 459 tourists from Wuhan set to arrive later in January
Jan 23 • Wuhan residents banned
• Travelers from China required to make health declaration before entering
Jan 25 • Tours to China suspended until Jan 31
• Hubei Province: Level 3 travel alert
• Rest of China: Level 2 travel alert
Jan 26 • Tour groups from Wuhan to depart Taiwan
Jan 27 • Tour groups from Hubei province to depart Taiwan
• NHIA and NIA integrate patients’ past 14-day travel history into NHIA database
Jan 28 • China (except Hong Kong and Macau): Level 3 travel alert
Jan 29 • Electronic monitoring of quarantined individuals via government-issued cell phones
Jan 30 • Tours to or transiting in China suspended until Feb 29
• NHIA database expands to cover 14-day travel history for patients from China, Hong
Kong, and Macau
Jan 31 • Remaining tour groups from China to depart Taiwan
Feb 2 • Guangdong Province: Level 2 travel alert
Feb 3 • Wenzhou city: Level 2 travel alert
Feb 5 • Zhejiang province: Level 2 travel alert
• Cruise ships with suspected cases in past 28 days are banned
• Cruise ships with previous dockings in China, Hong Kong, or Macau in past 14 days
are banned
Feb 6 • Tours to Hong Kong and Macau suspended until Feb 29
• Chinese nationals are banned
• All international cruise ships are banned
• Contacts traced for Diamond Princess cruise ship passengers who disembarked in
Taiwan on Jan 31
Feb 7 • Foreign nationals with travel to China, Hong Kong, or Macau in the past 14-days are
banned
• Foreigners must see an immigration officer and cannot use e-Gate (quick entry)
• Couple fined NT$300,000 (USD $10,000) for breaking 14-day home quarantine rule

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 Feb 8 • 128 passengers on SuperStar Aquarius cruise ship tested within one day and all were
negative for the coronavirus
Feb 10 • Tours to or transiting in China suspended until Apr 30
• Tours to or transiting in Hong Kong or Macau suspended until March 31
• Most passenger flights from Taiwan to China suspended from Feb 10-April 29 (except
flights to and from Beijing, Shanghai Pudong, Shanghai Hongqiao, Xiamen, and
Chengdu airports)
Feb 11 • Most residents of Hong Kong and Macau are banned
• Hong Kong and Macau: Level 3 travel alert
• Singapore: Level 2 travel alert
• Thailand: Level 1 travel alert
• Travelers entering Taiwan must complete an accurate health declaration form or be
fined up to NT$150,000 (USD $5,000)
Feb 12 • Government declared that violators of home isolation regulations will be fined up to
NT$300,000 (USD $10,000); violators of home quarantine regulations will be fined up
to NT$150,000 (USD $5,000)
• Cases of severe influenza that tested negative for influenza since Jan 31 to be retested
for COVID-19
Feb 13 • Taiwanese nationals from MS Westerdam will return to Taiwan and be quarantined
immediately
• Foreigners on cruise ship MS Westerdam are not allowed to enter or transfer in Taiwan
Feb 14 • Taipei City Government tracks down 3 Hong Kong visitors who disappeared for almost
a week without undergoing quarantine. Each fined NT$70,000 (USD $2,350) and
transferred to specially assigned quarters for medical isolation.
• Entry Quarantine System launched to fill out health declaration form electronically and
allow for faster immigration clearance
Feb 15 • Japan: Level 1 travel alert
• Taipei City Government publishes names of two Taiwanese women and one man of
unclear nationality who could not be found after instructed to undergo home quarantine
Feb 16 • NHIA database expanded to cover 30-day travel history for travelers from or transited
through China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, and Thailand
• Expanded community-based surveillance measures:
o Individuals with foreign travel history in the past 14-days and had contact
with travelers exhibiting fever or respiratory symptoms with suspected
cause from COVID-19
o Clusters of cases with fever or respiratory symptoms
o Pneumonia cases with symptoms without improvement after 3 days of
antibiotic therapy, cluster of pneumonia cases, or healthcare workers with
pneumonia
Feb 17 • Travelers arriving with fever or respiratory symptoms will have sample taken
Feb 18 • Taiwanese passengers on Diamond Princess cruise ship returning to Taiwan must use
charter flight arranged by the CECC and be quarantined
• All hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies have access to patients’ travel histories
Feb 19 • Tours to or transiting through Hong Kong or Macau suspended until April 30
Feb 20 • South Korea: Level 1 travel alert
Feb 22 • Japan: Level 2 travel alert
• South Korea: Level 2 travel alert

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 • 19 Taiwanese nationals from cruise ship Diamond Princess return to Taiwan and were
quarantined immediately
Feb 23 • Italy: Level 1 travel alert
• Iran: Level 1 travel alert
• Healthcare professionals banned from overseas travel
Feb 24 • South Korea: Level 3 travel alert
• Healthcare professionals travel ban amended to level 3 alert locations (China, Hong
Kong, and Macau). Approval needed for level 1 and 2 locations
• Travelers with history of travel to China, Hong Kong, and Macau subject to home
quarantine for 14 days from arrival date
• Travelers arriving from countries with level 1 and 2 travel warnings subject to 14-day
self-health management
• Foreign nationals arriving from South Korea subject to 14-day home quarantine
starting Feb 25
• Taiwanese nationals arriving from South Korea subject to 14-day self-health
management starting Feb 26
Actions on Resource Allocation
Date Policy and/or Action
Jan 22 • Government allocates masks to retailers and sets price limit of 50 masks at NT$300
(USD $10)
• Ministries of Health and Welfare promote quarantine efforts and setup notification
mechanism through travel agents and tour guides
• Ministry of Economic Affairs lists daily local mask manufacturing capability at 2.44
million units which surpasses the local demand of 1.3 million per day
Jan 24 • Testing of COVID-19 to take place at Taiwan CDC or eight designated hospitals
• Export ban on disposable surgical masks until Feb 23
• Outbound travelers can only take up to 250 masks
• Violation of the ban results in confiscation and a fine of 3 times the masks’ value
Jan 30 • 4 million masks released daily from local manufacturers
• Only 1-3 masks are allowed per purchase at convenience stores, local pharmacies, and
medical supply stores
• Mask prices are currently fixed at NT$8 apiece (USD $0.27)
• Taiwan’s High Prosecutors Office starts a nationwide campaign to stop profiteering by
raising prices on disease prevention products; penalty is 1-7 years in jail and a fine up
to NT$5 million (USD $167,000)
• 4 million surgical masks produced per day with 1.4 million allotted to hospitals and
medical workers with remaining 2.6 million for consumer sales
Jan 31 • Government requisitions surgical masks from Jan 31 to Feb 15
Feb 1 • Mask prices drop to NT$6 apiece (USD $0.20)
Feb 2 • Government facilities (dorms or spare military camps) used for quarantine.
• Soldiers mobilized to production lines at local mask factories.
• 60 additional surgical mask machines being installed with 10% of capacity reserved for
children. Each machine can manufacture 100,000 surgical masks per day. Normally, 60
production lines requires 4-6 months to activate but all will be ready in one month. The
daily output will be boosted to 10 million masks a day.

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 Feb 3 • New name-based rationing system announced for purchase of face masks (starts Feb 6):
o NHI card holders can purchase 2 masks per week at contracted pharmacies for
NT$5 apiece (USD $0.17)
o NHI cards ending in odd numbers can purchase on Mondays, Wednesdays, and
Fridays; NHI cards ending in even numbers can purchase on Tuesdays, Thursdays,
and Saturdays; Sundays are open to all
o Each person can buy masks for one other person with their NHI card
o Children’s masks are reserved for aged 12 and younger
• 3,000 Chunghwa Post (state-run agency) workers of the 7,000 on duty each day will
take over logistics of distributing masks to 6,515 pharmacies and 52 health centers.
Each location will have 200 adult face masks and 50 children face masks every day.
• Engineers with the Digital Minister develop an app for the public to see pharmacies’
mask stocks
• 500,000 children’s masks distributed to private kindergartens for free
• Taipei to punish claw machine operators who sell masks and disinfectants
Feb 4 • NHIA allows foreigners without NHI cards to use passports to purchase masks unless
they are on a tourist visa
Feb 11 • Government invested NT$200M (USD $6.66 million) to purchase equipment and add
production lines
• 1,800+ Army Reserve troops have aided in mask production across 28 manufacturers
Feb 13 • Export ban on face masks extended until April 30
• Government requisitioning of surgical masks extended until April 30
Feb 16 • Masks are now also available for purchase at 303 local district public health centers
Feb 17 • Daily testing capacity for COVID-19 is approximately 1,300 samples
• Daily mask output is 5 million masks; sellers now allotted 400 masks a day
Feb 20 • Children eligible for 4 face masks every week due to increased production

Feb 22 • Maximum age for children’s masks raised to 13

Feb 23 • 6.45 million surgical masks distributed to K-12 schools and after-school institutions
before spring semester starts along with 25,000 forehead thermometers and 84,000
liters of alcohol-based sanitizers
Actions on Communications and Politics
Date Policy and/or Action
Jan 22 • Government announced the spread of fake news on epidemic can be fined up to NT$3
million (USD $100,000)
Jan 31 • The Criminal Investigation Bureau looked into false rumors on the coronavirus spread
by 6 suspects regarding patients staying in specific hospitals or neighborhoods or false
allegations on the high prices of surgical masks
Feb 2 • Government extended school winter break from Feb 15 to Feb 25
Feb 5 • Public servants given 14-days of unpaid leave to care for children under 12 if reason is
due to coronavirus between Feb 11-24
Feb 9 • Taiwanese national in Japan prosecuted for spreading rumors that cyanide can ward off
the coronavirus
Feb 11 • Criminal Investigation Bureau questioned suspects on spreading a rumor of a toilet
paper shortage due to face mask production, sparking a toilet paper panic

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 Feb 13 • NT$60 billion (USD $2 billion) allocated for businesses affected by the epidemic
Feb 19 • CECC coordinated with the Environmental Protection Administration, the Ministry of
Education, and local environmental protection departments to disinfect public spaces
around schools and school areas open to the public during winter break
• Ministry of Education oversaw commissioning of licensed companies to disinfect
universities and colleges
• The Ministry of Education announced student absences due to fever or respiratory
symptoms will not count on students’ attendance records
• Ministry of Transportation and Communications set cleaning standards for school
buses, Taiwan High Speed Rail, Taiwan Railways, tour buses, and taxis
Feb 21 • Ministry of Education guidelines for suspension of classes due to confirmed
coronavirus cases:
o If 1+ in a class (student or teacher) at the K-9 level diagnosed with COVID-19,
class is suspended for 14 days
o If 2+ cases in a school, school is closed for 14 days
o If one-third of schools in a township, city, or district are shut down, all others are
closed
o If a student or teacher is diagnosed in a high school, college, or university, all
classes they attend or teach is suspended for 14 days
o If 2+ cases of COVID-19 in an institution at any level, it will close for 14 days
• Ministry of Labor to provide financial assistance to workers furloughed due to
COVID-19 and receive up to NT$18,960 a month (USD $630) in subsidies.

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